The majority of US households receive television content through cable television systems. Such systems have traditionally used a few OEM suppliers of hardware (e.g., set top boxes) and have not provided for integration of non-security navigation functionality of set-top boxes directly into digital TV sets. Under the so called “Plug and Play” agreement, the CableCARD™ adapter card was standardized as a way to adapt consumer electronics (CE) “navigation” devices to cable networks. While CableCARD™ standardization had promise, it was crippled by a lack of cable operator support, access to only a 1-way, lower tier of service, and no service-supplied metadata. With the advent of Switch Digital service, cable operators are further depreciating 1-way service by eliminating access to even some of the “basic” content.
Cable television Multiple Service Operators (MSOs) are presently establishing a new digital TV standard referred to as Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) which will provide access to enhanced, 2-way functionality with unrestricted access to premium and high-value interactive services. Under this scenario, metadata (and the user interface) will be managed by OCAP applets downloaded to set-top boxes sold at retail. There is discussion about downloading OCAP applets to devices connected to those set-top boxes—so called “endpoints” in the home network. In this way, the cable operators can be assured of the “proper display” of their user interface when playing back cable content.
Unfortunately, under the OCAP model, CE manufacturers remain stymied because there does not appear to be a way to gain access to the metadata in order to create an alternative user interface to that supplied via the OCAP application. It is currently not possible to manage content in new ways that the customer might find compelling. Hence, this standard may force consumer electronics companies to conform to the user interfaces (UIs), Electronic Program Guides (EPGs), download protocols, and feature sets, defined by the MSOs using the OCAP standard. Unless a television receiver device such as a TV conforms to the OCAP standard (and its associated restrictions), it will be unable, among other things, to receive the meta-data related to the digital content. Without this meta-data, the television receiver will be unable to display any information related to the content including EPG descriptive material. As a result, improvements in technology, improved user interfaces and other features developed by such consumer electronics companies that are incompatible with the MSO supplied OCAP interface may be unusable in an OCAP environment. Additionally, the consumer will be stuck with whatever user interface and EPG capabilities their cable television supplier wishes to provide.
Internet services exist that can provide the desired descriptive material, however, to use such services, it is generally necessary to know the service provider, the time, and the channel number of the program being viewed. In a configuration where the STB is simply streaming decoded video to the TV (i.e., the STB is used just as a tuner/decoder), the virtual channel number associated with the video is unknown. Without the virtual channel number, Internet services that provide meta-data or descriptive material cannot be used.
In addition to controlling access to metadata used to generate electronic program guides and the like, the power exercised by the service providers in controlling such data also inhibits CE manufacturers from being able to offer innovative service enhancements, such as interactivity and interaction of the television with the Internet.